novelnext Chapter 23 Arrival at Fragrant Hills, Giant White Fox
Chapter 23 Arrival at Fragrant Hills, Giant White Fox
"These two bandits have no martial arts training; I could easily crush them..."
After this battle, Li Xiao gained a basic understanding of his own strength.
After a month of working as a porter at the docks, he acquired a "sweat towel" that made him incredibly strong.
The 'rag shoes' I wore a few days ago have strengthened my lower body and vitality.
The combination of these two factors has made me who I am today, capable of easily taking down two bandits.
As for killing, he had no psychological burden.
He killed Master Huang last night; it was just a little disgusting.
I killed two bandits today, but I didn't feel particularly panicked.
This is the advantage of having a legitimate reason to fight.
He had only killed evil people, people who deserved to die.
It will not cause the kind of mental illness that American veterans experienced during World War II.
"Oh, and we can't forget the old tradition of looting..."
Li Xiao squatted down and searched the fat bandit, finding five silver dollars. Then he found five silver dollars, including his own, on the skinny bandit.
He carefully put away the silver dollars, jumped back onto the donkey cart, and kicked the fat bandit's head like a ball.
"Brother, let's keep going..."
Li Xiao looked at the middle-aged coachman who was still slumped on the ground and said.
"Yes...yes, sir..."
The driver swayed as he got up and walked toward the donkey cart.
Li Xiao tossed another silver dollar over and laughed, "Don't be afraid. There's no village or shop around here. Who would know it was us who did it? You keep going. This silver dollar is compensation for your emotional distress. I think you know better than me what you should and shouldn't say."
"Thank you, sir."
The driver, having received the money, forced a smile: "If you hadn't brought it up, I wouldn't have dared to tell anyone... Who would invite trouble upon themselves? These people deserved to die, sir, you did the right thing..."
The driver sat back down and continued on his way.
The sky grew darker and darker, and after an hour, it was completely dark.
The moon hangs high in the sky, its faint light illuminating the path.
Two more hours passed, and after rushing for a while, we finally arrived at Xiangshan Village.
Under the moonlight, the outline of a village could be vaguely seen, and some lights were still on in some of the houses.
As the driver hurried along, he asked in a low voice, "Sir, I'll be looking for someone to stay with in Xiangshan Village tonight. Which relative are you visiting? I'll take you there."
The driver often traveled at night until very late, and usually, when it got too late, he would stay in a local village.
They would make arrangements with a family in the village beforehand to do this kind of work, and all they needed to do was pay them some money.
Li Xiao said, "I'm not going to the village. Do you know where the temple at the foot of Fragrant Hills is?"
The driver was somewhat surprised: "You...are you going to see the fortune teller?"
Li Xiao asked, "You know about fortune tellers?"
The coachman exclaimed in fright, "Look at what you're saying! Everyone in the surrounding villages knows how effective the fortune teller is! All the wealthy families bring sedan chairs to her temple. After Xiangshan Village was ravaged by bandits, those bandits don't dare go to that temple anymore."
Li Xiao said, "Well, I'm going to the temple to ask for something."
The driver said, "Then I can't take you there... The road at the foot of the mountain is impassable for vehicles... I'll take you to the crossroads, and you can walk the rest of the way, sir, how does that sound?"
Li Xiao nodded: "Okay."
The donkey cart missed the village entrance and headed down another road.
Soon we saw a narrow path by the roadside, overgrown with weeds on both sides, with uneven stones on the ground. It was indeed too narrow for a car to pass through; we could only walk in.
After jumping out of the car, Li Xiao plunged into the narrow, winding path.
to be frank.
Walking in the middle of nowhere late at night, in a place overgrown with weeds.
Even if Li Xiao knew there were no ghosts or monsters in the world in his previous life, he wouldn't have dared to do this.
But having encountered spirits and monsters in this life, and having killed people, I'm not so afraid anymore.
Knowing that this rat spirit could speak human language and was kind-hearted, the fear lessened somewhat.
After walking along the narrow path for about half an hour, we came to see a big mountain.
After walking for about fifteen minutes, the outline of a dark mountain temple gradually emerged from the night.
The temple is small, built against the mountain, with mottled walls and a crooked plaque hanging above the door with illegible characters. The surroundings are unusually quiet, and not even the chirping of insects that is common on summer nights can be heard.
Li Xiao stopped in front of the temple gate and straightened his clothes.
Even though it was stained with dark red blood clots, I couldn't care less.
He raised his hand, about to knock on the half-closed, peeling wooden door.
The door creaked open and slid open a crack on its own.
A pair of pure and clear eyes peeked through the crack in the door; a seven-year-old girl was staring at him.
"Is that Li Xiao?"
"You...recognize me?"
With a creak, the door opened completely, and the little girl stepped out.
She wore an exceptionally exquisite mauve-colored ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), which shimmered softly in the moonlight, standing out starkly against the surrounding desolation.
She was barefoot, with a red string tied around her ankles and a bronze coin hanging from it. She looked up, her hands behind her back, and gazed at Li Xiao with her clear, spring-like eyes.
In fact, Li Xiao had already guessed most of it. He closed his eyes and knew that the girl was not human.
Her life fire was white, swaying like a pure white lotus flower, very vigorous, indicating that her cultivation was quite profound.
According to Brother Rat's memory, this little girl should be the white fox spirit who transformed into human form.
However, I only remember what he looked like when he was two or three years old; he's grown up now.
Despite looking like a seven or eight-year-old girl, she's probably several hundred years old.
The little girl said in a childish voice, "Of course I recognize you! You're a disciple or grand-disciple affiliated with the Goddess of Fragrant Mountain, while I'm the real one... I'm your senior sister, so you should call me 'elder sister' when we meet!"
Li Xiao felt a little amused; it was indeed strange to call a little girl "sister."
But considering the other person's real age, it's not surprising; calling her "Grandma" or "Grandma" would be fine.
He cupped his hands in greeting: "Miss, I've come to see the matriarch; I have important business to discuss."
The little girl giggled and said, "Why do you add 'little' to 'sister'? Is it because I look very small? But it sounds really nice, I like it very much. Mother is already waiting on the mountain and asked me to come down and get you. Do you want to go up the mountain by yourself, or do you want me to take you up?"
Li Xiao said, "I don't know the way. Why don't you take me up the mountain?"
The little girl smiled, her dimples blooming, and said, "Okay, but my cultivation isn't high enough. I need my true form to use spiritual magic. Don't be scared, though. Someone saw my true form once, and it scared them half to death..."
Li Xiao laughed and said, "You're my senior sister, how could I be scared?"
The little girl giggled and took half a step back.
The moonlight seemed to be pulled by an invisible force, forming a hazy halo around her.
Her exquisite lotus-root-colored ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) rippled like water, then transformed into specks of firefly light and disappeared into the night.
At the same time, her figure began to grow taller and swell...
Her delicate, picturesque face lengthened, and white hair sprouted from beneath her fair skin at a visible speed, quickly growing thicker.
In just a few breaths, the petite girl had vanished.
Instead, there was a huge white fox that almost reached the eaves of the temple.
Its fur is as white and smooth as moonlight, seemingly glowing faintly in the dim night.
Its body is about five meters tall, with long and powerful limbs, and it stands steadily in front of the dilapidated temple.
What's most eye-catching is its back, where three fluffy, large fox tails sway gently like three flowing clouds, each movement bringing with it a subtle breeze and a faint fragrance.
The white fox lowered its head, and its once clear, spring-like childlike eyes now became narrower and deeper fox eyes, with amber pupils and a shimmering light in their depths.
A cluster of flame-shaped crimson marks grew between his brows, bright and eye-catching. Red lines around his eye sockets made his heterochromatic eyes appear both eerie and possessing a sacred beauty.
"Were you scared?"
The white fox spirit made the same sound as the little girl from before.
"No, it's beautiful."
Li Xiao said this while admiring the view.
This white fox is so beautiful, and its size is just too huge!
With that size, a tiger in the mountains would probably be no match for it, unable to kill him with a single slap...
"You have good judgment, no wonder your mother chose you."
The white fox opened its mouth and immediately spat out a white cloud, which floated down to Li Xiao's feet.
This must be some kind of magical power; stepping on it feels as soft as stepping on cotton.
White clouds drifted up and carried Li Xiao onto the white fox's back.
Hold on tight.
"Okay."
Li Xiao held onto the white fox fur tightly, as if he were lying on a soft bed.
The white fox leaped into the sky, reaching a height of thirty meters. Then, four white clouds appeared from its four paws, solidifying the air as if it were ground, and it flew towards the mountain...